What are your students' needs? What do they desire? What do you desire from them? When given the chance, the human frontal cortex will provide synthesis and responses for just about any question, even if it is not qualified to provide an answer. This is also satisfying (see above). What this means is, just because your brain provides an answer to a question such as "What are your needs?", it does not mean that those are your actual needs. (For example, how do they differ from your 'wants'?) Positive bias and our inevitable human conceit keep us from realizing that our responses to questions, even if they are personal, are not always correct. For alignment purposes, implementation of "needs analysis" (needs of the teacher, student, school, etc.) is essential, but it must be understood that (1) students' brains don't always provide them with the correct answer, and (2) students are bad at predicting how their bodies will react to what they will be learning in the future, so wants and needs tend to blur, too. So, while alignment via needs analysis is essential, staying flexible enough to avoid disappointment and loss of motivation is equally, if not more important.

Q. Have you ever done a needs analysis? If so, what do you think about needs analysis now?